Chapter 23 of War and Peace is here in full — 901 sentences across 181 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of War and Peace is here in full — 901 sentences across 181 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well, is she pretty? Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....” But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short. He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought. Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
Chapter 23 of War and Peace is here in full — 901 sentences across 181 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/180 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
with anger
From this reading “Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.”
an officer in command of a military unit
From this reading “He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.”
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading “Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....””
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.”
a light shade of red
From this reading “Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....””
done or occurring in a brief period of time
From this reading “Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.”
-ing form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.”
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading “Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
with anger
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
an officer in command of a military unit
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Well, is she pretty?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
a light shade of red
From this reading Ah, friend—my pink one is delicious; her name is Dunyásha....”
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading “Well, is she pretty?
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
done or occurring in a brief period of time
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
-ing form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Well, is she pretty?
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading But on glancing at Rostóv’s face Ilyín stopped short.
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
create by training and teaching
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He saw that his hero and commander was following quite a different train of thought.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, is she pretty?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Rostóv glanced angrily at Ilyín and without replying strode off with rapid steps to the village.
Chapter 23 of War and Peace by Leo, graf Tolstoy holds 901 sentences, grouped into 181 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 23 holds 901 sentences of War and Peace, unabridged, divided into 181 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of War and Peace by Leo, graf Tolstoy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 901 sentences, grouped into 181 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 181 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 181 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 23 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading War and Peace by Leo, graf Tolstoy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 30326 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2600 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2600, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 6066 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through War and Peace section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in War and Peace, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
